Continue using caution if heading out on the ice in the Tomahawk area this weekend. Yesterday a truck was pulled out from about 20 feet of water in Lake Alice, and there's still a partially submerged shack off the Hwy. 86 Bridge on Mohawksin that went in Jan. 1. Ice depths range greatly from about 6 to 11 inches of ice. Ice can be a lot less in other areas, especially around the channels on the many flowages in the Tomahawk area. Looks like some nice weather is in the forecast for this weekend, so should make the perfect opportunity to get out and catch a few panfish for the frying pan. Since I haven't been out jigging yet this winter, I will be starting targeting areas where the fish should be this time of year. Areas like wood on the flowages and weeds and weed edges on the lakes are always a good bet early on. Will be running fatheads on the tip-ups during the day to pick up bigger perch and switching to bigger minnows later on for walleyes. Hopefully everyone has gets the chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful Northwoods this weekend. Make sure to be safe, have fun and enjoy your Northwoods ice time.

It doesn't appear ice conditions will be improving much here in the Tomahawk area in the coming week. Forecasters are calling for highs in the 30s through Saturday and even some possible rain Thursday. While I don't think we will be losing any ice, it doesn't look like access will be getting any better for those looking to venture out with vehicles. There have been some people driving on Alice off Anglers and on the Spirit off CTH E, but other than that, it still remains mostly ATV and snowmobile travel at this time. I would really caution vehicle travel unless knowing the conditions first. I heard a report of a truck going through on the Willow just last week. The ice depth appears to be ranging between eight and 10 inches (with less on the channels), so a bit more would be recommended before taking the vehicles out. Did manage to get out a few times over the past week. On Saturday I had multiple flags where the walleye would hit and take out about 10 feet of line before dropping the bait. I've seen this more than a couple times this winter, and it seems to be the result of small walleyes. Yesterday went out for a couple hours before dark and did find some good crappie and bluegill action on Mohawksin. This warm weather should keep the panfish bite going. The crappies and gills were suspended from 9 to 13 feet down in 17 feet of water, so having the electronics surely helped in locating and catching these fish. Waxies worked good to catch the crappies yesterday, although other days tipdowns and rosy reds or crappie minnows work best. A darker color jig also out produced other colors for this angler. The good news is there's plenty of ice to get out and enjoy one of the beautiful bodies of water in the Tomahawk area. Hopefully we can add a bit more ice soon so truck travel becomes an option. We really could use a good dumping of snow to make the skiers and snowmobilers happy as well. Time to get out and enjoy that early season panfish bite. Remember to only take what you need and put the rest back for seed. Also don't forget the kreepers if coming up this weekend. Good luck to everyone heading out this week and weekend. Be safe, have fun and enjoy your Northwoods ice time. Fishing Tip: Regardless of what month the calendar reads during the winter, I always like to bring along the spud when heading out ice fishing. By using the spud and electronics, you can save a lot of time and cover a lot of ground by opening and checking recently old holes instead of punching all new ones.

The DNR will be hosting a Free Winter Fishing Weekend statewide this Saturday and Sunday. Residents and nonresidents alike will not need fishing licenses - bag and size limits still apply. The DNR hosts the annual free weekend to encourage more people to get involved in the sport of ice angling. Up until the recent cool down that moved in Saturday, the crappie and gill bite on Tomahawk area flowages was going pretty strong. Many 12 to 13 inch fish caught using rosy reds on tip downs. Also caught some nice fish on dark jigs, blue glitter, tipped with waxies when action on tipdowns slowed. Lot of eight and nine inch fish released. A few kept for the frying pan. Fish were suspended from a few to several feet off bottom on brush and rocks in 10 to 16 feet of water. Literally got blown off Lake Mohawksin Saturday morning as a strong gust of wind actually blew our portable shacks over with us in them. Fortunately nobody was injured and no gear was lost. Tried for some walleyes off shore Saturday evening on Mohawksin but not much going for us. Making good ice as of late and seeing more vehicles venturing out. Would still use caution if unsure of conditions, especially on area flowages where channels and current can quickly change ice conditions. Make sure to where kreepers on boots when heading out as most the snow has melted off. Hopefully this will be the last time we hit the reset button on winter and conditions improve.Fishing Tip: For those with pager systems, try tying a line off the end of your tip down poles and using the pagers to notify you of bites. This way you can concentrate on your fish locater instead of having to watch the tip downs all day long. I've been doing this for a couple years and it works great.Good luck to everyone heading out this week and weekend. Be safe, have fun and enjoy your Northwoods ice time. Also just a reminder, Tomahawk Fishing Unlimited's second annual Family Winter Fishing Contest is coming up quickly. The tournament, which allows anglers to fish any body of water they want, takes place Saturday, Jan. 26, at Road Lake Pub and Grill. For more information, check out this week's issue of the Tomahawk Leader of visit the "fishing contest" thread listed under Fishing with Jed. Early registration is available at Road Lake, Chuck's, Aquatic Arts, Vieguts and Tomahawk BP.

Brrrrrr. Down to 14 below zero here in the Tomahawk area last night, and forecasters are calling for about minus 20 tonight. Good news is we're making really good ice, so truck travel should be pretty good for the coming weekend. Hearing between 12 and 14 inches right now. Temps forecasted to stay pretty cold through Thursday before warming up some by Friday. The bite should continue to improve as we head toward the weekend with the stable weather in the forecast. This past weekend proved almost a carbon copy of the one prior, with the big cold front moving in a couple hours later Saturday night. Did manage to get out ahead of the front again and found a good crappie and bluegill bite on Mohawksin. When the tip downs slowed we focussed on jigging suspended fish that were about 10 feet down in 14 feet of water. Caught just as many on grubs as we did minnows. Managed a nice meal and put back a number of nine inchers for future stock.Big Tomahawk Fishing Unlimited Family Fishing Contest this Saturday at Road Lake Pub and Grill. Fish any lake and bring in (dead) fish starting at 4:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. Tournament runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Lot of prizes to be raffled. Food and refreshments available. Register at Chuck's, Aquatic Arts, Tomahawk BP, Viegut's Do-It-Express or Road Lake Pub through Saturday morning. Registration is $5 adults and $3 those 15 and under. Hope to see you there. Good luck to everyone heading out this week and weekend. Enjoy your Northwoods ice time and try to stay warm.

Finally was able to put the permanent shack out on a Tomahawk area flowage as there now is a good foot of ice where I am fishing. Big Alice in Winterland Ice Fishing Contest coming up on Lake Alice this weekend. Great opportunity to get the youngsters outdoors while having a chance to win some real nice raffles. A warmup is forecasted after a short cold blast over the next few days. Should help freeze up this rain that is making a real mess of things out there this Tuesday morning. As far as recent fishing, this angler has been targeting crappies in some of the deepest water I can find on the flowage I am fishing. Fish have been somewhat tight lipped, as we can see them come up to the bait and then go back down on the electronics. Trying an assortment of baits and colors and haven't found something they like yet. The tipdowns have been producing small crappies with some nice fish of 12 inches mixed in. We're running rosey reds about a foot off the bottom (deeper than usual) and are using the smallest treble hooks possible as many drops are being experienced. Some nice gills also being caught tight to bottom in the deep water. The walleye bite has really turned on as of late, although all those we've been catching on tipdowns have been running on the small side. Hoping to set up later this evening to see how the late bite is going once all the dink walleyes go to bed. Wouldn't be surprised to see some real nice pike registered at this weekend's Alice in Winterland Contest. Some real hogs were brought in for the Tomahawk Fishing Unlimited Family Fishing Contest over this past weekend, and it looks like, weather wise as forecasted, conditions should be about the same to put the toothy critters in a feeding mood. Good luck to everyone heading out this week and coming weekend. Be safe, have fun and enjoy your Northwoods ice time.

The Tomahawk area picked up about five inches of snow with this most recent dumping, which is good news for those who have anxiously been waiting for the snowmobile and cross country ski trails to provide some action. I was a bit concerned this new snow could cause slush problems on area lakes because of the rain and melting on Tuesday, but with negative 20 scheduled for tonight and highs in the single digits tomorrow, I think things should firm up pretty good before the weekend. Don't forget Alice in Winterland will be taking place on Lake Alice this Saturday. The crappie bite was going pretty good for this angler leading up to the snowstorm and temperature drop. Caught enough for a meal and put a bunch back in the short amount of time we were out on the ice. Our fish came on tip downs set about a foot a foot off the bottom in the channel (about 7 to 9 feet in the flowage we are on). A buddy jigging waxies caught several suspended fish about three feet off the bottom in about 12 feet of water. The walleye bite we had experienced the night before shut off. Hearing highs in the double digits for this weekend, so we will be a little better off than where we are at right now. Good luck to everyone heading out this weekend. Have fun and enjoy your Northwoods ice time.

One of the coldest nights of the season here in the Tomahawk area Sunday as temps fell below the minus 20 degrees. Kept many anglers like myself off the ice until later in the day over this past weekend. Despite the late start, fishing proved pretty good for us using tip downs tipped with rosy reds and crappie minnows in about 8 to 9 feet in the channel. The area we have been targeting includes the channel and some wood. The fish seem to be holding tight to the wood and moving out along the channel edges as the bite picks up. The bigger fish (12+) have been coming off the flats along the deeper channel bed. We have been running the tip downs anywhere from a foot to 18 inches off the bottom. Saturday evening we put back about a dozen crappies, with eight being in that 12+ range in about an hour on the ice before dark. We got out for a bit longer on Sunday and ended up taking home 13 and releasing several more. I've started to tinker with different jigs to see if this helps catch fish when they are finicky. I know guys who are using trebles as small as a #20. Snow has started to pile up on the ice, but as of yesterday, I was still able to get around pretty good with the truck in four wheel drive. The forecast doesn't show much snow for the next several days, an inch is supposed to fall tonight, so hopefully travel will be good heading into this coming weekend. Hopefully heading out this afternoon and will report back later on how the bite was. Good luck to everyone heading out this week and weekend. Have fun and enjoy your Northwoods ice time!

Fishing has been slow for this angler the last couple times out on Tomahawk area flowages. Managed a couple nice 12 to 13 inch crappies on the Spirit last night that were put back, but most fish were coming up to the bait and backing off without bitting. The few crappies I am catching on the tip downs are now coming off of jigs, not small treble hooks, tipped with a small rosy red or crappie minnow. Hopefully the warm and more steady weather forecasted for this week will help to improve the bite. This is the last weekend of the gamefish season on most inland bodies of water - excluding portions of the Wisconsin River and Lake Mohawksin in Tomahawk. Travel conditions have become much more difficult with the additional six or so inches of snow the area picked up last week. There's now about 11 inches on the ice and seeing some pockets of slush that could become more of a problem if melting occurs heading into this weekend. Make sure to take along the shovel if you plan to get off the beaten path very far. Planning on expanding the search for some more active fish this coming weekend. Time to check out some perch lakes and see how the deep mud flat bite is going. Good luck to everyone heading out. Have fun and enjoy your Northwoods ice time.

Ugh. Just as warmer air temps were starting to knock down some of the snow base on local waters, the Tomahawk area picked up about 7 inches of wet, heavy snow Sunday night. Great news for the snowmobilers looking to get out on the trails for a couple more weekends, but it will make for pretty tough truck travel on the ice going forward. Should be taking shovel and tow rope if driving vehicles out now. I haven't been out since the snow, but I suspect we could be dealing with some slush in the not too distant future. Did manage to get out for a bit over this past weekend. Recovering from a cold that kept me off the ice for the better part of the past month, I was reminded how hard it can be to get back on the fish after having to take a break. Tried a couple spots on Tomahawk area flowages that had been producing crappies and caught only a few pike on tip downs. Might be time to turn the attention to jigging with wigglers for mud flat perch on lakes just north of town. Just a reminder, all permanent ice shacks have to be removed from the ice each day starting this Sunday, March 16. Owners of shacks that are not removed on a daily basis could face fines. Hopefully it won't be too much longer and the water will be running down the holes. Good luck to everyone heading out this week and weekend. Be safe, have fun and enjoy your Northwoods water time.

Spoke with a guy who got his ATV stuck trying to get out to his shack on the Willow Flowage the other day. Checked a couple more popular boat landings in the area and it doesn't look like many have tried getting out with trucks since the last big snowfall. They are calling for another 3 to 5 inches of snow in the Tomahawk area Friday, so travel conditions will continue to get worse heading into this weekend. Unless you plan on using a snowmobile, I wouldn't advise getting too far off any roads this weekend, if there even are any trails to get around on out there yet. Seems more like January or February out there now than it does a couple days away from spring. Don't forget the shovel!

Been watching the Wisconsin River slowly open up as spring takes its own sweet time arriving here in the Tomahawk area. It has seemed much more like February outside than the first week of April as of late, with the low last night dipping down to 2 degrees. Waiting on ice conditions to improve before heading out again with the truck. The little fishing we have been able to do recently produced some small crappies. Fishing should get much better as the snow melts and lakes access improves. Should have several weeks of ice fishing left as there is still between two to three feet of ice on lakes. Boats are being launched at the Herb Mitchell boat landing off of Hwy. 107. Forecasters are now saying about an inch of snow this weekend instead of the 6 to 10 predicted earlier in the week. Hopefully rain Saturday will continue to melt off the snow and slop that is currently restricting access and we can salvage a couple weeks of ice fishing yet during what is typically the best time of the year for panfish. Good luck to anyone heading out this week and weekend. Be safe, have fun and enjoy your Northwoods ice and water time!

The barometric pressure seemed to play a big factor on fishing success over this past weekend. We tracked it from Sunday morning, after getting a text from a friend that the crappie bite was on, until the afternoon when action slowed considerably. It was at about 29.5 when we got out on the ice at around 11 a.m., and by the time we left, it had risen to almost 30. You could actually see the fish turn off on the electronics as they would come up to the bait and then swim away. The bite went from a good one on tip downs, to plastics working best, and then to fish completely turning off. I talked with some other anglers who were out Sunday evening and learned they also found inactive fish. Something to keep in mind when planning a day out on the water. Maybe if we had switched to targeting bluegills or perch things might have been a bit different, but the barometer sure did seem to impact the crappie action this past weekend. We were fishing a dark-stained lake in Lincoln County and finding fish 7 to 8 feet down in anywhere from 13 to 17 feet of water. As far as ice conditions are concerned, we drove the truck out on Lake Alice off Anglers Lane Saturday evening (1 small crappie) and I think that will be the last time for me. The landing was getting rough and with a bunch of rain and snow in the forecast for this week, it looks like things might best be limited to sleds, ATV and foot travel. Walking out Sunday we had a nice crust to travel on, but after the bright sun did a number on the ice during the day, we ended up busting through almost the entire way back into a layer of about five inches of slush. Ice depth was still pretty impressive at around 2 feet. Will be interesting to track as the opener arrives in a couple weeks. Also, Tomahawk flowages' water levels are on the rise, which may open the shorelines and make ice access difficult. The Spirit Flowage went up 1.5 feet over this past week, while the bigger Willow and Nokomis take a lot longer to fill up. Was at the Spring Hearings in Tomahawk last evening and there were about 100 people in attendance. Will be interesting to see where things like ending early season restrictions on keeping largemouth bass and opening more state waters to trolling play out. On a side note, would have been a fantastic evening to be out on the ice as the barometer was in the mid 29 range. Guess I need to talk to our Conservation Congress reps about having the DNR place the hearing online.Good luck to everyone heading out this week and weekend. Be safe, have fun and enjoy your Northwoods ice and water time.

Got out for a short time before the snow and rain began to fall here in the Tomahawk area yesterday morning. Tried a small lake west of town and got into a pretty decent crappie bite. Unfortunately, it turned out, the crappies were extremely stunted on the lake we were on and an eight incher was a big fish. Found them a foot under the ice in 14 feet of water. Caught about a dozen in less than an hour using tip downs with crappie minnows and jigging bloodworm plastics. Still fun to be out on the ice. Electronics were again key in helping locate where the fish were. Ice conditions included the shoreline going out, a layer of ice that made for easy walking, about six inches of slush on top of about 18 inches of ice.Drove by the Spirit Reservoir on my way to work this morning and could hardly believe how much it came up overnight - we received 1.03 inches of precip Sunday. Over the past week the system went from about 11 feet down to five feet from full and rising quickly. Wouldn't be surprised to see it full by the end of this week or maybe even by the end of today. Turns out we might have open water by the opener, even if spring doesn't arrive here in the state until July. The Willow went up a foot over the past week and Nokomis was also up over a foot. The snow and freezing rain might not be enjoyable, but it sure should do a number to fill flowages this spring. Also heard the Little Somo is up to the road on Zenith Tower. Will be driving by tonight to see if it is coming over the road yet. The boat landing at Deer Park near the N. Fourth St Bridge is ever so close to opening. A strong wind is beating on the ice this afternoon that could help open things up. Just need some warmer weather or someone to break the launch open with their boat and the spring walleye season will be underway. Still plenty of ice out on lakes without channels to get out and enjoy some late season ice fishing. Won't be long either until the boat launches are packed by those looking to get in on some spring walleye fishing on the Wisconsin River. Hard to believe we are just a little over two weeks away from the opener. Good luck to everyone heading out this week and upcoming weekend. Be safe, have fun and enjoy your Northwoods ice and water time.

Saw the first boat of the season launch of the Deer Park Rd boat launch next to the North Fourth St Bridge here in Tomahawk yesterday morning. Along with the Herb Mitchell boat launch off Hwy 107, there is some open water fishing opportunity now available here in the Tomahawk area. Cost to launch at the Deer Park Rd landing is $2 daily or $20 seasonal. Seasonal tickets are available at local sports shops and City Hall.

Too bad the warm temperatures experienced earlier in the week couldn't have stuck around for this weekend's fishing opener. Some rain is in the forecast along with daytime highs in the low 50s for Saturday here in Tomahawk (last water temperature reading on the Wisconsin River earlier this week was only in the mid 30s). Several boat landings are open on the Wisconsin River and Lake Mohawksin. The SARA Park boat launch opened up Tuesday and we were able to put the boat in. Strong winds and a pretty swift current that day made for difficult fishing conditions and we were unable to boat any walleyes. Would have switched to a heavier jig head, like a 1/4 ounce to keep the bait down, if it hadn't have been so windy that day. I suspect some ice fishing will still be taking place on some of the larger lakes to the north of Tomahawk as I've heard of anywhere between a foot to almost two feet of ice still remaining on some bodies of water. Two ATVs went through on Lake Alice last weekend, so I would not recommend trying to get out on any remaining ice here in the Tomahawk area. Several of the smaller lakes in the Tomahawk area also now ice free. Expect trout streams to be at their banks as spring runoff comes to an end the region picked up some rain over the past week. Haven't seen any of that white stuff yet this morning like that which is falling in the northwestern part of the state. Let's hope it stays that way. Might not have the best weather conditions for this weekend, but at least we will be able to get out on the water for the opener. Good luck to everyone heading out. Be safe, have fun and enjoy your Northwoods water time!

Hopefully everyone got out for a fun and safe opener to the 2013 season this past weekend. As expected, Tomahawk area waters were pretty busy as anglers descended on local flowages to take advantage of what limited open water there was in the region. Been hearing mixed results from those who got out Saturday. Didn't get out myself until Sunday evening as a wedding to took up most the weekend. Did manage to get out for a short time last night and the girlfriend and I were able to catch about 40 walleyes fishing below a Tomahawk area dam. A lot of small males, but we did manage to catch a few that would have been "eaters" had we been planning to keep any fish. We used a simple hook and sinker tipped with a fathead. The water level on the dam we were below was back to normal last night after really raging earlier in the week. I suspect the walleye bite will really get going on remaining waters as those water levels also rescind. Will likely be a quick spawn this year, and before we know it the lilacs will have blossomed and the crappies will have spawned. I suspect action will remain hot this entire week. A cold front heading into this weekend might slow things down. Good luck to everyone heading out. Be safe, have fun and enjoy your Northwoods water time.

Out last evening for a couple hours below a Tomahawk area dam and landed 20 walleyes between two of us. None of the bigger males last night and all were released. The crappie bite should start to come on strong in the coming days and weeks as these fish get ready to spawn. Planning to try a couple of those spots in the coming days after I've burned through the rest of my walleye fatheads. Again, slowly dragging/drifting a basic hook and sinker presentation along bottom to catch walleyes. Good luck to everyone heading out. Time to get out and enjoy that nice spring weather and the great fishing to be had here in the Tomahawk area.

I have been hearing of muskies up below Tomahawk area dams for the past several weeks, so hopefully they are done spawning for the start of the 2013 musky season opener this weekend in northern Wisconsin. Look for warm water and any possible weeds to start off the season. Small bucktails, jerk baits and even topwaters can be good lures this time of year. Bigger females could be up shallow or sitting off the break lines recovering from the spawn. Always fun to try figuring out the pattern and where to target them early in the year. Crappies had moved from staging areas and I was hearing reports of fish being caught shallow. Although, it got down into the 20s here last night, so the fish might stay a little deeper until the weather warms back up. Also hearing reports of some gills starting to move up in the shallows, although I would think it is still too early for them to be on their beds. Also hearing of some good smallmouth action with fish on spawning on shallow rocks and sand.Hard to believe Memorial Weekend is already here. Thank you to all the vets who have proudly served and continue to serve our great country. Remember the big Main Street Memories Car Show takes place in downtown Tomahawk Sunday, so be sure to stop by in the afternoon to see some 300 collector vehicles on display. There are also a host of events scheduled in town this Saturday as part of the event. The forecast looks great for a grill out, campfire and attending festivities this weekend. Should be plenty to do between wetting a line and pounding the water to a froth in search of the first big musky of the year. Good luck to everyone heading out. Have fun and enjoy your Northwoods water time.

After cramming several weeks of house work into the condensed spring we have seen here in northern Wisconsin, we were finally able to get out after some muskies here in the Tomahawk area Saturday evening. Had two really nice fish follow using topwaters, but as often is the case with when it comes to musky fishing, I was unable to connect with either. The fish were located in new weeds on the windblown side of the reservoir. Still nice to have some action after only a couple hours on the water. At least I now know where the are now and plan to go back soon to try to entice a bite. The panfish and walleye bite has been pretty fantastic leading up to the big cold front that moved through the area yesterday. An outing below a dam last week produced some nice walleyes, bluegills, crappies, smallies and a couple pike. Also targeted the Wisconsin River and found some pretty active post-spawn walleyes. Crawlers were working best below the dam and jig and minnow produced on the Wisconsin. I have been noticing water temperature differences in the area have been really impacting how anglers have been doing this spring. If you are not finding action on the body of water you are targeting try moving to a different flowage. This has been going on since the walleye run, and I suspect it will continue until the gills move out of the shallows. Things should start to pick back up again as more stable weather returns to the area. We enter a new moon phase heading into this weekend, so it looks like the stars should be lined up for some more good action. We had around 4 inches of rain here in Tomahawk over the past two weeks and flowages are full. Actually had to scrape the truck windows this morning as it got down to 32 degrees here in Tomahawk last night. Time to get out and enjoy as July 4 will be here soon and summer will be half over. Good luck to everyone heading out this week and weekend. Have fun and enjoy your Northwoods water time.

Fished below a Tomahawk area dam yesterday afternoon and had some pretty good action. Catching walleyes and bluegills using leeches with slip bobbers. Also caught walleyes using hook and sinker on bottom, but this did result in a few more snags. Some nice size fish were caught and the action was pretty consistent considering it was the middle of the day. Been hearing the musky bite has been getting hot in the area over the past couple days. Some stable weather heading into this weekend should keep things going. Will be getting out myself to work some topwater around deep weed edges during the evening bite. Good luck to everyone heading out this weekend. Have fun and enjoy the rest of your Fourth of July weekend.

Got out for a little while Saturday morning to chase musky on Mohawksin before the heat of this past weekend set in. Ended up hooking into a very nice mid to upper 40-inch fish that I lost boat side after a pretty long battle. I guess that is why they call it fishing and not catching. I was using my brand new Nimmer Swimmer Prop Dog when the fish hit along a deep weed edge, which worked ideal in the good wave action there was on the lake. Probably only had about 10 casts on the lure before it was crushed by the fish. Pretty exciting and can't wait to get back out and give it another shot later this week. Cover is back on the boat now as they are talking near 90 degree weather here in Tomahawk over the next couple days. Suppose to cool down heading into this weekend, which could slow down the fishing a bit depending on exactly when the cold front pushes through.Been hearing of some continued really good walleye and panfish action on area flowages and below Tomahawk dams. Legal walleyes and hand-sized bull gills have been providing a good bit of action this summer and making for some nice meals. Leeches are a good way to go for these fish and crawlers will also work. Fishing should remain good if you can get out early over the next couple days. Otherwise, this weekend might be post cold front conditions unless it moves through earlier enough so the weather pattern has a chance to stabilize. Good luck to everyone heading out this week and weekend. Have fun and enjoy your Northwoods water time!

Just a reminder Tomahawk Fishing Unlimited will be hosting its annual Free Summer Kid's Fishing Contest at Veterans Memorial Park this Saturday, July 20. Prizes including rod/reel combos awarded for the biggest fish catches in two age groups. Free DQ meal, bait and lots of door prizes to be awarded. Below is an article from last week's Tomahawk Leader with more info about this Saturday's contest. Talk about a great way to get a kid hooked on fishing. Hope to see you there!As far as fishing goes, looks like a cold front is about to put an end to this heat wave as it moves through the region and really drop temps heading into Saturday. Will make for some nice weather to be out on the water with the youngsters, but post cold frontal conditions are never ideal. Still should be some nice panfish and maybe a few walleyes caught.

Tomahawk Fishing Unlimited hosts free Kid’s Fishing Contest SaturdayBy Jed BuelowTomahawk Leader City Editorjbuelow@tomahawkleader.comParents will not want to let this opportunity slip away, as the non-profit group Tomahawk Fishing Unlimited (TFU) hosts its annual free Summertime Kid’s Fishing Contest this Saturday, July 20, at Veterans Memorial Park.Prizes including rod and reel combos will be awarded in two age groups (up to 10 and 11 through 15 years of age) for the biggest catches in a number of fish categories.Parents and guardians are asked to pre-register with children at Memorial Park to pick up rules, free bait and a grab bag filled with fishing supplies to use for the day. Food and refreshments will also be provided at no cost. Registration begins at 8 a.m. with the contest getting underway at 9 a.m. New this year, the contest is being limited to Lake Mohawksin and the adjoining Wisconsin River to prevent the transport of live fish and lake water, which is now illegal under state law. Fish will be registered at the TFU Veterans Memorial Park pavilion starting at 9 a.m. with any ties going to the first fish registered.TFU members will be on hand throughout the day to offer fishing tips and help anyone new to the sport with fishing equipment. The organization has been hosting the contest for over 25 years as a way to help get area youth hooked on the sport of fishing. In previous years some 200 youth anglers have taken part in the summer fishing contest. TFU also hosts a Family Fishing Contest at Road Lake in January as a fundraising effort to support the summer contest. Parents are encouraged to spend the day with their children fishing Lake Mohawksin or the Wisconsin River on the water or from shore. The event concludes at Veterans Memorial Park with the awards presentation at 3 p.m. Again this year, local conservation officials will talk with youngsters following the contest about the importance of protecting local waters from aquatic invasive species.Along with hosting the free fishing contests, TFU has long been involved in enhancing the sport of fishing through local stocking efforts, helping fund docks and boat ramps and getting thousands of youth involved in the sport over the past two decades. For more on this Saturday’s contest, contact Mary Lu Voermans, TFU president, at mlvoermans@wjjq.com or Jed Buelow, TFU secretary, at the Tomahawk Leader at 715-453-2151 or jbuelow@tomahawkleader.com.

The colder weather and home repairs have really cut into the amount of time this angler has been able to spend on the water in recent weeks. That is about to change, as the weather is forecasted to begin warming up next week, which will coincide with the August full moon. I suspect the musky fishing will pick back up under these conditions, and even if I have a hole in my bathroom wall where a window should be, I'm planning to be on the water to take advantage. My last musky trip about two weeks ago, it hurts to write that, resulted in a couple lazy follows including a 40 and mid 40 inch fish. No matter what we threw at them, we just couldn't get one to connect and ended up with a goose egg for the weekend. I suspect the warmer weather will once again turn on the topwater bite, which can be a whole lot of fun this time of year. Will be working those weed edges with deep water nearby and will also be checking areas where heavy current earlier this year kept me from fishing.While my hammer has been in my hand a lot more as of late than the fishing reel, it really hurts my thumb to write that, we also managed to sneak below a Tomahawk area dam for a couple hours the other night. Using leeches we caught and released a couple nice keeper walleyes that were right up along the rocks by shore. Then the bullheads started biting and it was time to head home. Didn't have any plugs with us, but I suspect casting Big Os up along the shore also would have produced and probably would've helped avoid the bullheads. Also been hearing about some really good smallmouth bass fishing taking place on the Wisconsin River with fish surpassing the 20-inch mark. And just to prove there still are plenty of big musky in the Tomahawk area, Kyle Cherney, of Tomahawk, stopped by the paper with photos of two 50" fish he caught in July. Both bruins came off his Cherney Tails. Congrats, Kyle. Now time to find out where I can get my hands on a couple of his lures. Good luck to everyone heading out this week and weekend. Time to get out and enjoy the return of summer. Enjoy your Northwoods water time!

Just a heads up two fishing tournaments will be taking place on Lake Mohawksin this Saturday, Sept. 7. Could get a bit crowded out on the water, as both a musky and bass contest are scheduled for the same day. Might want to check out a different body of water if you're planning to fish in the area this weekend. Good luck to everyone taking part. A few quick trips out below area dams over the past week produced a couple nice walleyes and some bass. Catching them on the last of the leeches, although, I suspect, a crawler would have also produced under a slip bobber or dragged along the bottom. Heading out for a much needed weekend on the Willow tomorrow morning. Will report back on how the fishing went next week. Good luck to everyone heading out this weekend. Have fun and enjoy your Northwoods water time.

The only thing better than the relaxation the Willow Flowage provided over this past weekend was the fishing. Got out for an overnighter Saturday and found good crappie, perch and big bluegill action. First spot we tried, jigging the deeper channel, produced some nice perch. Then fished off some shoreline rock and produced nice perch, crappie and several 9-11 inch gills. Using leeches and crawler pieces on a 1/32 oz. Mini Mite. Dragged along bottom or jigged vertically off side of boat. Water depth between eight to 11 feet. Woke Sunday morning to the sound of loons. Kept a few panfish for a meal and put the rest back for seed. Give the Willow a shot some time if you've never been. Remote camps are free and the fishing can be fantastic. Can be somewhat tricky to navigate when the water level is low, so take your time until you know the channel and where not to go. Thankfully still got my lower unit. Things really gearing up here in Tomahawk for the start of the Fall Ride. By Wednesday evening things will be getting pretty loud around here. Local guide told me a couple years back that this is about when the fall musky fishing season begins. Won't be long now and the bait shops will have musky suckers, the walleyes will be putting on their fall feed bags, and I still have an ice shack to get built yet before the snow flies. Hoping to get after some skis this weekend, if I can weave my boat through all the bikes to a body of water. Good luck to everyone heading out. Have fun and enjoy your Northwoods water time.